Cheap and Easy Wall Decor: Canvas Art

I am in the process of giving my craft room a revamp (Check out my new twerk-station) and was in serious need of some wall art. I had several 16×20 canvases that had fallen victim to some art-sharts and have been waiting to be saved. Today’s the day. This project is only limited by your imagination. Well, that and copyright laws.

I found a free printable on Chilean designer Joy Kelley’s blog How Joyful. Click here to getcha one. I love this, but free printables drive me nuts. You gotta have ink, nice paper and a frame… all of that equals money, which I do not like to part with. So, I’m gonna use some stuff that I already have and show you how to do the same.

Let’s do this.

This canvas had been painted black and white and was a total fail. I almost always have canvas fabric on hand and I had just enough to re-cover a couple of these 16×20’s. I could have repainted it, but there was texture on this canvas that would have shown through and I would have had to wait for paint to dry. I hate waiting. Plus, painting over black would have been a pain.

I put the 16×20 canvas face down on a piece of canvas fabric.

Grabbed my staple gun…

…and got to it.

When recovering a canvas, you wanna start on one side, hit it with a few staples and then move to the opposite side, pulling taut while stapling.

Then move to the other side, pulling taut and stapling. When you get to the corners, just imagine you are wrapping a gift. I do this differently almost every time. As long as the front is smooth and tight and you don’t have a huge bulge on the corner, you’re doin’ good. If you hit it with a staple and don’t like it, stick a flat head screw driver under the staple and pop it off and try it again.

All covered. This will obviously work on a fresh, new canvas as well.

I flipped ‘er over and grabbed some painter’s tape.

This is the fun part. Just go for it. Start with some diagonals and switch directions every once in a while, keeping the spacing even. Or not, whatever, it’s YOUR art.

Keep tapin’…

…and tapin’…

…until you’re happy with whatcha got. Flip the canvas over and press from the backside to make sure the painter’s tape is good and stuck to your canvas. Time to paint.

I used Krylon spray paint in Pistachio for this one. The spray paint kind of made the little fibers of the canvas fabric stick up, so I went over the paint with a foam brush to get those little hairs to lay down.

When it was dry, I removed the painter’s tape and got to work on my free printable. I opened the printable in the Silhouette software and scaled according to the canvas size. I simply selected the image/text, traced it and let the Silhouette do it’s thing with some adhesive vinyl.

I peeled off the text and used the transfer paper to lay the vinyl on the canvas.

I use screen printing ink for projects like this. This stuff works very well on canvas and 16 oz of it is something like $13. I get mine from Dick Blick because I think that name is hilarious. Also, I bought ONE of these last year and it lasted the whole year. I made over thirty canvas pillows with this. Score.

When it was dry, I peeled of the vinyl.

Custom art ready for the wall!

But I didn’t stop there. I had several other canvases that were in need of some TLC and some blank wall space in the craft room. I searched and searched for some free printables that weren’t icky and inspirational. I found none. But I did find some sweet feathers over at Audrey’s Oh So Lovely spot. She’s got some super cute stuff over there. Check ’em out.

I grabbed another canvas and went about it the same as the first.

Except this time, I decided to stop here.

I grabbed some paint…

…I actually used this kind of paint. HD will mix custom colors for you in these tiny little containers for just a couple bucks. SO much cheaper than fabric paint. The color is Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Glidden. (p.s. – this matches Rustoleum’s Lemongrass spray paint almost perfectly)

Let ‘er dry, peeled off the painters tape and then put my free feather graphic into the Silhouette Software, cut it and applied it the adhesive vinyl to my canvas.

I dug through my paint stash and decided that I wanted to use some gray spray paint…

… I wrapped the canvas in foil to hide it from over spray…

…and sprayed ‘er down. After a few minutes, the little pieces of the feather started the lift and curl from the spray paint…

Shart.

Ugh, whatever. I wasn’t about to let this canvas die another death, so I outlined it with a black gel pen in a couple spots.

Done.

Hold on. I did one more.

I spray painted this one with Rustoleum’s Lemongrass, found a free hammer clip art, put it in the Silhouette Software and cut it out of white adhesive vinyl. The text is in Opera Lyrics Smooth.

So easy (and cheap)! Can’t wait to get these babies on the wall when the craft room is done! I hope this inspires you to dig through your stash and make something one of a kind for your wall!

Comments

Hey Dena……So glad I fell on your blog! Have been doing a lot with words on old windows…now you’ve hook me on words and such on canvas. Thanks for your info..you read like a “fun-luvin” gal. When I went to sign up for your weekly sharts, I really LOL! whoa..almost had to change my pants! Thanks again your “how-to” photos GREAT!
~Jan~

Gah I wish I were so decisive with my DIY art choices but I always get hung up on the ‘doing’ part. As in a total DIY failure. Buuuut you’re so inspirational- I’ve gotta see if my beau will whip up some homemade canvases for me– no it’s not slave labor it’s because he has a love affair with his wood-workshop.

This is incredibly ironic. I’m actually working on some word art and canvas projects myself. I plan on printing out my word art on vellum with some patterned paper behind it. I hope mine turn out as nice as yours.

Haha! I love the hammer canvas!! I don’t have a silhouette, and every time I see someone do some really cool/crafty thing using one, I say I’m going to get one…and I never do. Maybe today is the day?! Pinned! ~Lisa

Jim W.

"Such a cool little nod to one of our fave films.... looks brilliant when printed and framed. Bargain."

Lizzie E.

"awesome, i love it! can't wait to frame it!"

Rebecca P.

"Loved that I got to preview what the pillow would look like before receiving it! Wonderful all around!"

Colleen S.

58 Water Street

"This pillow was a gift from Jasper to his humans, and they love it! It is well made, with quality materials, and shipped promptly. I'll be ordering more from Dena!"

Shelly M.

"Loved the service and quality I received from heartsandsharts! I informed the seller that I needed this for a gift within the next month and before I knew it, the pillow cover was being shipped within the first few days! I was very impressed. My friend absolutely loved her customized pillow cover as well! Would definitely recommend :)"

Alan M.

"The quality is great and the service is very fast! We have bought two pillows as gifts and our family members love them!"

Melissa G.

"Love it! I ordered the "Let's Kick It" pillow in green and it's perfect. It's great quality and came very quickly. I get compliments on it from all of our guests!"

Maggie P.

"My friend received her custom-made Airstream pillow. She is so pleased. Thank you for your expedient service and your design of the pillow. We are all very "Happy Campers".